On Thursday last, there was a report that the most soybean futures in history were traded in one day (Wednesday). Prices went up about 20c.

Why did they go up? All reports pointed to the announcement by US president Donald Trump that China would buy more US soybeans.

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybeans for March closed at 1,060.25c/bu on Tuesday 3 February.

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On Wednesday, it had moved to 1,065.75c/bu and on Thursday it hit 1,092.25c/bu, before jumping further on Friday to 1,112.25c/bu. On Tuesday this week, it closed at 1,122.50c/bu.

These figures show how trade announcements and political agreements can affect markets.

Why does this matter to Ireland? Well, oilseed rape prices have improved in the past few days as oilseed markets saw a bounce from the rise.

Crucially, it may also result in more soybeans being grown in the US. Last year, with uncertainty around soybean markets, US farmers planted more corn (maize) and had record crops, so this added more grain to the world market and likely contributed to reduced cereal prices.

French oilseed rape for November increased since last Tuesday to Friday from €458.75/t to €470.50/t. On Wednesday afternoon, it was down slightly to €469.25/t.

Looking at wheat, prices dropped from a high last week. Prices for French wheat for December were around €202/t to €203/t. On Tuesday this week, it closed at €200.50/t, but showed signs of improvement on Wednesday afternoon at €201/t.

WASDE report

The United States Department of Agriculture released its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) Report on Tuesday 10 February.

The report placed the global outlook for 2025/2026 wheat at lower supplies, slightly greater consumption, higher trade and lower ending stocks.

However, it should be noted that while global ending stocks are reduced by 0.7m tonnes to 277.5m tonnes for 2025/2026, they remain at a five-year high. The report raised Argentina’s wheat production to a record 27.8m tonnes.

Global coarse grain production (maize and barley) was unchanged from last month in the report at 1.590bn tonnes.

The report said: “Foreign corn production is down fractionally, as a decline for Mexico is mostly offset by an increase for the EU. Barley production is raised for Argentina, but lowered for Turkey.”

US corn exports are raised 100m bushels to 3.3bn. The report stated: “This month’s 2025/26 US corn outlook is for greater exports and lower ending stocks.